A Supremely Awesome, Gay Muslim Church Called Fountain Street. Located in Conservative Grand Rapids, Michigan. Wowsers.
Reading around the internet, I found an MLive article from 2010 reporting Fountain Street Church had been defaced with feces and eggs. Highly disrespectful and highly gross, those are not the highlights of the article for me. Human waste combined with half of a chicken's seed of life is juvenile at best. Probably some metaphors to be found if we took the time, but even those would pale in comparison to the lucid and well thought out statements quoted at the article's end. Former FSC staffer Rev. Matthew Cockrum (now in Seattle) was interviewed for the story and the reporter saved the best for last. See screen shot below...
I can say with some certainty that the first reference is erroneous and ill-informed at best. Although the church is actively involved with women's rights and does operate The Choice Fund, used to augment or pay for abortions for low income/high risk women, the thought of some type of on location facility is a bit ridiculous, quite silly, and pretty twisted. Logistically possible, but not happening. Although I have some personal reservations and private thoughts regarding abortion, The Choice Fund is here to stay - I know this and still manage to make it to work each day.
The second comment is by far the best/worst, in soooo many ways, but is also not too surprising to read. This particular combination of ignorant and hateful slurs shows the lack of awareness of the speaker, while also alerting us to a possible cause of said ignorance. This comment shows us that general life confusions can, and do, manifest as basal & primitive lashings out, attempting to hit on such vulgar frequencies that the resulting noise (and therefore the speaker his/herself) be acknowledged. Through this the speaker hopes to get a temporary reprieve from their own pain by causing pain to others. Oldest trick in the book...
This commenter clearly is not very well informed about the church, has taken liberties in their interpretation of what FSC actually is, and sadly does not seem to show much interest in finding out the truth. *For a bit more insight on my thought process regarding negative manifestations, please see my ethics and values piece published on The Good Men Project.
I would gladly work for a gay Muslim church. Please, let's build it and watch them come. Maybe San Francisco first, Grand Rapids like, 132nd on the list. By that time, if you are gay and not Muslim, then there is truly cause for concern. Lol.
Thanks to Fountain Street for taking me on. Thanks to Fountain Street for taking a chance on me and reaching out, and then setting attainable goals to benefit the greater good. Thanks to Fountain Street for gathering such a diverse group of art and artists for this years' ArtPrize. Our theme is Social Justice, and some of the pieces are getting good press. News stories here and here.
Not sure if the church or I know exactly what to expect as my employ continues, but it is refreshing to know there is a good bit of common interest in finding and sharing the truth. A love affair has begun...
Be you. Do you. Think for yourself. Help someone out. Believe in love, and life will come around.
Thanks for reading.
Ryan
I can say with some certainty that the first reference is erroneous and ill-informed at best. Although the church is actively involved with women's rights and does operate The Choice Fund, used to augment or pay for abortions for low income/high risk women, the thought of some type of on location facility is a bit ridiculous, quite silly, and pretty twisted. Logistically possible, but not happening. Although I have some personal reservations and private thoughts regarding abortion, The Choice Fund is here to stay - I know this and still manage to make it to work each day.
The second comment is by far the best/worst, in soooo many ways, but is also not too surprising to read. This particular combination of ignorant and hateful slurs shows the lack of awareness of the speaker, while also alerting us to a possible cause of said ignorance. This comment shows us that general life confusions can, and do, manifest as basal & primitive lashings out, attempting to hit on such vulgar frequencies that the resulting noise (and therefore the speaker his/herself) be acknowledged. Through this the speaker hopes to get a temporary reprieve from their own pain by causing pain to others. Oldest trick in the book...
This commenter clearly is not very well informed about the church, has taken liberties in their interpretation of what FSC actually is, and sadly does not seem to show much interest in finding out the truth. *For a bit more insight on my thought process regarding negative manifestations, please see my ethics and values piece published on The Good Men Project.
I would gladly work for a gay Muslim church. Please, let's build it and watch them come. Maybe San Francisco first, Grand Rapids like, 132nd on the list. By that time, if you are gay and not Muslim, then there is truly cause for concern. Lol.
Thanks to Fountain Street for taking me on. Thanks to Fountain Street for taking a chance on me and reaching out, and then setting attainable goals to benefit the greater good. Thanks to Fountain Street for gathering such a diverse group of art and artists for this years' ArtPrize. Our theme is Social Justice, and some of the pieces are getting good press. News stories here and here.
Not sure if the church or I know exactly what to expect as my employ continues, but it is refreshing to know there is a good bit of common interest in finding and sharing the truth. A love affair has begun...
Be you. Do you. Think for yourself. Help someone out. Believe in love, and life will come around.
Thanks for reading.
Ryan
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